Securing and storing tools and miscellaneous hard goods where they are conveniently available to a worker on the job can oftentimes present a problem as well as present a safety hazard. This can be a particularly serious problem when the worker is in a confined space such as when working in the bucket of an aerial lift boom. Aerial lift booms are conventionally carried on a truck or similar wheeled motor driven chassis and are widely used in the construction trades, utility repair, tree surgery and other similar areas that require access to carry out work in places that may or may not be reached by a ladder. Aerial lift booms are more convenient and more efficient than ladders for use in locations to which the chassis can be moved.
The bucket in which the worker stands or sits is restricted in size and provides only a limited floor area on which to store parts and unused tools. In addition, the bucket, being at the end of the boom, can be unsteady and the presence of items on the floor of the bucket may present a hazard to the occupant. On occasion the occupant of the bucket will wear a tool belt for securing small tools. However, even a tool belt can be an impediment to the occupant of the bucket.
Several U.S. patents describe methods and apparatus for holding large tools in the bucket of a boom lift. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,713, Johnson-, describes a tool holder that is secured to the boom lift bucket. The tool holder consists of a bent flexible plate and a tool holding strap extending between opposite edges of the plate. The tool holder is designed to hold elongated tools such as poles and remote mount saws and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,837, Kistner, also relates to a tool holder for securing elongated tools on the boom lift bucket. The tool holder is clamped to the upper side edge of the bucket and includes pivotal clamping apparatus for holding the tools. In this manner, the elongated tool can be clamped to the bucket when it is lowered and the tool is lying on the ground. As the bucket lifts the tool, it gradually pivots so that it is safely hanging vertically on the exterior of the bucket.
The foregoing patents are not concerned with the securing and organizing small tools and miscellaneous small items that, if loose on the floor of the bucket, can become a hazard to a person in the bucket. At the least, such loose small tools represent an inconvenience for the worker as there is no convenient place to store small tools in the bucket until they are needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,556, Gatto, relates to a modular tool and hard goods organizer and storage unit for converting the interior of a pail or 5 gallon bucket into a storage unit for such items. This device is unsuited for use in a boom lift bucket since a pail on the floor of the boom lift bucket can interfere with the footing of a worker in the boom lift bucket and thus constitute a hazard.
Containers for boom lift buckets have been used in the field; however, these containers are essentially boxes that are open at the top. Tools and other items are held in the box in a random, unorganized manner. A worker is forced to sort through the items in the box to find the tool or other needed items.
Similar problems are presented in underwater construction and repair projects where a diver requires an assortment of tools to be ready at hand when needed.